An online hub connecting you to artists, activities, exhibitions and events, creative spaces and opportunities

LATEST EXHIBITIONS COMING TO THE MPRG

What: Stars in the river: The prints of Jessie Traill

This eagerly awaited retrospective of etchings by pioneering printmaker Jessie Traill, brings together more than 100 works from the National Gallery of Australia’s outstanding collection. A key figure in post-war Modernism, Traill forged a radical path giving visual expression to the dilemmas of a growing nation. Combining a poetic sensitivity with an unerring eye for line and form, Traill’s depictions of the natural environment express the beauty of the bush, while her images of industry are embued with the dynamism of progress. An early conservationist, Traill’s dual vision continues to resonate today.

A National Gallery of Australia exhibition. The National Gallery of Australia is an Australian Government Agency.

Today Lynley Dodd’s name is synonymous with her creation, the unkempt dog, Hairy Maclary. The result of a small sketch of a scraggly pooch she encountered in 1979, Dodd penned a few lines underneath the drawing and Hairy Maclary was born. Over five million books of the little dog’s story have been sold worldwide and it has been translated into several languages making him an international character.

Lynley Dodd worked as a cartoonist for newspapers in the 1970s and created her first picture story book in 1974, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes, in collaboration with Eve Sutton, still in print today. Since then she has written and illustrated thirty books, winning the Children’s Picture Book of the Year award four times.

Lynley Dodd: A Retrospective showcases 59 original sketches and drawings from Dodd’s popular children’s books, including the Hairy Maclary series, the Schnitzel Von Krumm series, Slinky Malinki and Scarface Claw. This is the first exhibition to celebrate the works of the famous writer and illustrator and Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery is the only Victorian venue to host this magical exhibition.

Community Day at the Gallery! Sunday 3 August, 10am-4pm

Help Hairy Maclary and Friends sniff out the answers to our treasure hunt, visit our animal nursery, catch your breath during the book readings, enter your doggie in the pet parade and enjoy the Flying Bookworm Theatre Company’s entertaining shows! Take a tour of the exhibition and don’t miss the opportunity to have your favourite Hairy Maclary book signed by Dame Lynley Dodd herself!

A series of prints by Marco Luccio of Sydney Harbour Bridge inspired by the etchings of pioneer print-maker Jessie Traill. The pulsating vibrancy of Luccio’s line work, scratched on site into large copper plates, aptly conveys the power and dynamism inherent in the bridge’s sweeping form.